


To End All War

by noshoesangel



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 22:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2042814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noshoesangel/pseuds/noshoesangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack’s reflections after his encounter with Rosie near the end of episode 2 x 01 – Murder Most Scandalous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To End All War

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is conceptualized as a missing scene between the final scenes of episode 2 x 01, however it could take place any time before episode 2 x 07 – Blood at the Wheel. No major spoilers.

The Great War; the war that was to be the end to all wars... So much had been lost, stolen, never to be reclaimed. He, not unlike so many others, had not escaped unscathed. Once a soul is touched by such darkness, it can never fully be reclaimed.  Rosie had never understood this, still did not understand this...

_“You’re a different man these days, Jack - you've got your fight back.”_

_“Probably just that lack of ambition.”_

_“Or escaping a marriage that didn't suit you...”_

His response had been instinctive and vehement, almost violent in its intensity:

_“It’s war what didn't suit me.”_

That he had returned from the War a changed man he had never denied, although perhaps, only years later, had he truly grasped the full extent of the transformation. One aspect of his life that had not changed, however, was his view regarding marriage.  The desire for a wife and children still lingered deep within him. And had Rosie been willing, dedication and commitment would have driven him to continue the marriage, determined to make it succeed no matter the cost. Even when the children did not come, even when the intimacy disintegrated... he had loved Rosie once and his innately devoted nature decreed that he still did, although in a manner that differed significantly from when they had first begun their courtship, all those years ago.

Changed though he knew himself to be, he returned from the War with enough naivete to believe that the horrors could be replaced by the ubiquitous hope for a brighter future. But the darkness could not be escaped and the War to End All Wars had not eradicated hatred, or crime.

Some had moved on from the War with a heightened sense of freedom and an echoing cry of _carpe_ _diem_ \- Jack saw only the darkness and the injustice surrounding him every day, even here, in the supposed sanctity of the land that he called home.

Rosie had accused him of a lack of ambition, but the War had irrevocably changed his path to success and the accolades, social status and financial security Rosie sought had been no match for the calling residing deep within.

Even as Jack dedicated himself more fully to the service of the people, Rosie drifted further away from the husband whom she would never truly be able to understand:  thus did the war claim another relationship.

Miss Fisher understood what Rosie could never grasp, because Miss Fisher understood the shadows, had been touched by them herself. First through the devastating loss of Janey, and then as an active witness to the death and destruction of war ...  As with so many others, Jack had initially been taken in by her sparkle, all-encompassing gaiety and zest for life, naively assuming that she was one of the lucky ones who had emerged unscathed.

But he is an intelligent man, a caring man, and their burgeoning relationship and ever deepening connection have increasingly revealed the secret depths of Miss Phyrne Fisher. Noticeable only for those who care to truly observe,  in those few precious, unguarded moments when Miss Fisher - _Phyrne_ \- allows herself simply to be ... the signs, subtle though they are, are all too revealing. Make-up faded away by the demands of the day, shoes tossed inelegantly on the floor, the slight hunch of shoulders, weary from a burden invisible but weighty nonetheless...

Loss calls to loss and perhaps, at a most elemental level, this is the true connection between himself and Miss Fisher. Untold pain and grief spark between them more powerfully than the sexual tension that also pulses, vibrant with promise but tempered by restraint – his restraint. Powerful though it may be, lust is no match for the experiences of the past that colour his very being with regret, caution and yes, even fear ...

The darkness threatens to overwhelm and Jack closes his eyes against the half-formed memories that seek to ensnare him.

He keeps the darkness at bay through unwavering determination, discipline and dedication to the job. Miss Fisher has escaped the shadows by dancing resolutely into a world of perpetual light, sound and movement.  Paradoxical approaches but equally matched, and neither is as successful as they would have the world believe.

A screaming telephone penetrates his soliloquy and the ever-present demands of his chosen vocation beckon once again. 

Darkness still lingers at the corners of his mind, ready to reclaim and Jack hesitates. Light has the power to vanquish darkness, however briefly, and suddenly Jack craves the presence of sound, movement, energy – _her._

Perhaps the world can wait for just one moment more.

"Sergeant, should you need to contact me, I will be clarifying certain details of this case with Miss Fisher."


End file.
